Throbbing Gristle

Throbbing Gristle were an English music and visual arts group, officially formed in September 1975 in Kingston upon Hull by members Genesis P-Orridge (born Neil Megson), Cosey Fanni Tutti (born Christine Newby), Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson and Chris Carter. They are widely regarded as pioneers of industrial music. Evolving from the experimental performance art group COUM Transmissions, Throbbing Gristle made their public debut in October 1976 on COUM exhibition Prostitution, and, the following year, released their debut single, "United / Zyklon B Zombie", followed by an album, The Second Annual Report (1977). The band released several subsequent studio and live albums—including D.o.A: The Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle (1978), 20 Jazz Funk Greats (1979), and Heathen Earth (1980)—on their own record label Industrial Records, building a notorious reputation with their transgressive and confrontational aesthetics; they included the extensive use of often disturbing visual imagery (such as fascist and Nazi symbolism, and pornography), as well as that of sound manipulation (noise; pre-recorded tape-based samples) influenced by works of William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin. Throbbing Gristle dissolved in 1981 due to interpersonal differences; the individual members went on to participate in other projects, such as Psychic TV, Coil and Chris & Cosey. The band was reformed in 2004, and released three more studio albums—TG Now (2004), Part Two (2007), and The Third Mind Movements (2009)—before disbanding again after P-Orridge's departure and Christopherson's death in Autumn 2010; the band's last studio project — a cover version of the 1970 Nico album Desertshore called The Desertshore Installation — was released in 2012 under the moniker X-TG.